|
CNNSI.com users sound
off on what's right about
sports
Posted: Thu August 6, 1998
This is the first sample of your responses to Sports
Illustrated's list of
What's Right About
Sports.
In this day of meaningless team names,
the South African national soccer team has the coolest team
name in
sports—Bafana,
Bafana—Zulu for "The Boys" or, literally,
"Boys,
Boys."
—Bryan Kelleher, Walkerville, South
Africa
Division III
athletics. How often do you see high-quality athletes competing only
for pride in their team and their university? The best
part, besides the competition, is that every one of these
athletes is handed a piece of paper after four years that
is far more valuable
than a
contract.
—Chad Hoffecker, East Lansing,
Mich.
The 5-4-3 double
play. Batters hate it, pitchers love it. Absolutely beautiful in
Baltimore.
—Ronn Craig, Wilmington,
N.C.
Joe
Paterno. Any coach who sprints down the sideline to yell at the
student section for throwing objects at the opposing team's
players shows that there is still a little bit of class
left in college
football.
—Eric Stephens, Floral City,
Fla.
I saw it a few nights ago, a replay of the Hawaiian
Triathlon. Two women, no calories left to burn, spastically
staggering and crawling across the finish
line.
—Kevin Kelly, Cedar Falls,
Iowa
Minor league
baseball. A great day at a bargain price, watching fine athletes
whose egos and bank books still look like ours.
And sports
writers—they have the most fun jobs in
journalism.
—Julianne Ture, Malden,
Mass.
The U.S. women's soccer
team. No prima donnas. No whiny-player mutiny. Just a World Cup
championship and an Olympic gold medal. And they stay
afterward to sign
autographs.
—Katherine Funk,
Washington
What's best about sports is
the stories people continue to
tell, like my dad speaking about Ted Williams in
1957.
—Nicole Allison,
Philadelphia
Buzzer
beaters, definitely. Home team down two points with 2.3 seconds
left—just enough time. It's one shot, do or
die.
—Shailen Singh,
Houston
High school
tennis. The only sanctioned high school sport that doesn't use
officials. Call your own lines and lets. How
genteel!
—Jason Franchuk, Louisville,
Colo.
The Yost Ice Arena
crowd. The University of Michigan's rink offers 6,500 reasons to
love college
hockey.
—Craig D. Baker, Ann Arbor,
Mich.
Successful fake
kicks.
—David Daniel, Fayetteville,
Ark.
Two words:
Anna
Kournikova.
—Dave Hogue, Vienna,
Austria
A Penn State football
uniform. A white helmet, a blue stripe, a blue and white jersey,
and black shoes. No names, no cute logos, no trendy colors,
no stickers for good plays—no changes for a hundred
years. Wear in sun, rain, mud or
snow.
—Joe Kaplan, Lexington,
Ky.
Northwestern beating
Michigan.
—Michael McNerney, Edina,
Minn.
The North Carolina-Duke basketball
rivalry. It never gets old, even when we usually get to see the
matchup three times a
year.
—Will Browning, Charlotte,
N.C.
Wiffle
ball. You, me and anyone else can throw and hit a
curveball.
—Tom Shipley,
Chicago
Rugby. It's O.K. to beat the hell out of your opponent as long as
you buy the first round after the
game.
—Jeremy
Dies
The 10-day
contract. The NBA's answer to being called up to the
Show.
—Don Alpern, Granada Hills,
Calif.
The goal-line
stand. Just a matter of who wants it
more.
—Steve Cumbie, Fort Worth,
Texas
| 
